[EDITOR'S
NOTE: We have tried three times to put the following into cyberspace and three
times cyberspace swallowed up this page like a black hole in the universe. Poet
Birgitta Jonsdottir of Iceland says she can tell from her stats that the Department of Defense has
been viewing her anti-war poetry. When we told the author of the following
poem, poet Allan Winans, of our inability to make the page stick in
cyberspace, he jokingly expressed paranoia. A paranoia we didn't share. We
figured it must be a computer glitch. It was.]

NATIONAL DEFENSE BLUES

National Defense
is the name of the game
no time for the sick and lame
oil is the name of the game

Reduce medicare, make deep
cuts in education
keep the stock market in elation

In California we're still paying the
energy gouge bill
in New York it's the big chill
in Iowa they still don't talk
about the pill

It's Jerry Falwell and the
home town boys
It's the Pentagon needing
new war toys

Security is the name of the game
all that was wild has been tamed
from cities to rural towns
it's evangelist hucksters and
political clowns

Hey Mister Vagabond where
did you go?
you're missing the all night
horror show

Turn up the furnace
turn up the heat
no spare change for the
homeless on the street
blue bellied cops
angels in lace
rich politicians hiding
in disgrace

Bush carries his mandate whip
the NRA shoots straight
from the hip

Let's repeal the assault
weapon ban
all in the name
of Uncle Sam

bombs soon to drop over
Iraq
plug your ears to the screams
killing women and children
is in vogue
be you mad or a CIA rougue

Pay the sports hero
Pay the elite
Pay the whore under the
sheets
No one reads Wordsworth
or Keats

Air Force general shakes
his head
he ain't never had to beg
for his bread
at night he sleeps securely
in his king sized bed

Please Mister President
save us from Cuba
don't let Iraq bring us down
they got the biggest bully
in town
but we're still the only super
power around
let them whine
let them die
we got mom and apple pie

Let's cut social programs
Amtrack too
Charge general admission
At the Children's zoo

The Pentagon spends millions
on nuts and bolts while out
in Wyoming they slaughter
young colts

Forget the poor
the hell with the arts
the Pentagon needs more money
for spare parts

Rest in bed secure and knowing
that "Three Mile Island"
is no longer glowing

Corporate CEOs make millions
a year
the working class slave
for peanuts and beer

Pick a career with money in mind
don't mix with ethnic groups
different from your kind
don't turn your back
they'll rob you blind